


boy's don't cry

by deadasadoorknob



Category: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs
Genre: Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Confessions, Dancing, Insecurity, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-02
Updated: 2020-02-02
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:20:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22523893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deadasadoorknob/pseuds/deadasadoorknob
Summary: [BOOK-VERSE]. When Jacob Portman walks into his room one late Friday night, the last thing he expects to find is his fellow peculiar Enoch O'Connor sobbing uncontrollably on his bedroom floor.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	boy's don't cry

**Author's Note:**

> The characters in this story do not belong to me, but to Ransom Riggs. I hope you enjoy! x

Jacob Portman could feel his eyelids drooping as he struggled to get through the Netflix finale he'd been watching. It was nearly 11:30 PM, and all of his friends had long since gone to bed. He sat up and stretched, feeling the muscles flex in his back as he yawned. Switching off the television, he made sure all the downstairs lights were off before climbing the stairs to his bedroom. 

The gentle snoring of the other peculiars drifted through closed doors as Jacob lumbered down the hall to his room, swiftly swiping embarrassing childhood photos off the walls as he went. He swore that he'd gotten all of them. 

Opening the door with his elbow, Jacob stumbled into his room and cursed when some photos fell off his stack onto the floorboards. 

But he forgot all about them when he saw Enoch O'Connor huddled in the middle of his bedroom, tears streaming down his pale face. He'd long-ago discarded his 1940s wear and had replaced it with a pair of Jacob's tracksuits (he'd had to roll the pant-legs so they'd fit) and a black Notorious B.I.G shirt that Jacob hadn't worn since the sixth grade. 

'...Enoch? Are you okay, man? I mean it's kind of late.' Jacob stuttered tactlessly. 

Enoch mumbled something incoherent, turning away to read one of Ricky Pickering's postcards that Jacob had stuck to the wall. It was from the fifth grade when Ricky had left the state of Florida for the first time, and spent a week in Georgia. The postcard informed Jacob of how cool the city Atlanta was. Ricky hadn't mailed it to him though, choosing instead to give the postcard to Jacob on the first day of school. He'd later admitted that he felt embarrassed telling Jacob about his trip since Jacob was so well-traveled.

True - Jacob had been to Tokyo, Paris, London, and Rio. But Ricky was the only true friend he'd had before the peculiars. Ricky's anxious words had always stuck with him. 

'Who's Ricky?' Enoch asked quietly, a teardrop catching on his chin. 

Jacob carefully placed the stack of photos on his dresser before going to crouch next to Enoch. The younger boy's blonde hair was mussed, flopping over his forehead in waves. Every time Enoch huffed out a breath, a lock of hair would shiver violently. 

'He was my best friend...before all this began,' Jacob replied. 'He was the coolest guy I've ever met. He had green hair, wicked lip piercings and had the best taste in music.'

Enoch anxiously tugged on his shirt sleeve, which came down to his elbow. 'Green hair?'

Of course. People dying their hair was pretty much unheard of in the forties. 'Yeah, it's a trend now in 2015 to dye your hair.'

'Oh.'

Jacob turned and pulled Enoch towards him, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy and resting his chin on top of his head. 

'I know you hate hugs, but you look like you need one.' 

Enoch began to sob, hugging Jacob tightly as his body began to tremble all over. 

'I _hate_ myself.'

Jacob pulled away, gently taking hold of Enoch's chin and bringing his face up so he'd meet his eye. Enoch's black-ringed blue eyes sparkled with newly-formed tears as he struggled to look anywhere but into Jacob's gaze. 

'I just - I'm so weird, my peculiarity's stupid and I'm just so awful to everyone. No wonder everyone _hates_ me.' 

'You're not weird Enoch, and your peculiarity's incredible! If we didn't have you with us when we were fighting the wights, we would probably all be dead,' Jacob said incredulously, 'and how could the others and I hate you, you're our brother for God's sake!'

'I've always felt left out,' Enoch sniffled. 'I lived in another loop before their's - Miss Albatross'. I'd only been in Miss Peregrine's loop for a few years before you came, but the other's had all been together since the start. I was awkward and rude which was why nobody liked me. I'd just sit by myself in the yard and play with my clay soldiers.'

'Enoch-'

'-But then you came, and everyone instantly _loved_ you. They all wanted to be around you; showering you with compliments like you were Jesus fuckin' Christ.'

'Don't swear.' Jacob cut in automatically, but Enoch ignored him.

'I just feel like I don't belong here.' Enoch's voice broke. 

Jacob stared at Enoch for a long time, before pulling the other boy to his feet and spinning him around. Enoch raised an eyebrow at him as Jacob bustled over to his shelves and pulled out one of his favourite albums. 

'Any chance you've heard of The Cure?'

'Jake I don't need any sort of cure!' Enoch replied angrily.

Jacob laughed. 'No, no. They're a band. Come over here.'

Enoch shuffled over next to him and watched as Jacob placed the pink record onto the player, and pressed a button. There was crackling before the upbeat guitars filled the room, causing Jacob to instantly start dancing. 

_I tried to laugh about it_  
_Cover it all up with lies_  
_I tried to laugh about it_  
_Hiding the tears in my eyes_  
_'Cause boys don't cry_

He kicked his feet and moved his waist, throwing back his head and grinning as Enoch watched him blankly. 

'Dance with me!' Jacob cried over the song.

'I don't dance!' Enoch retorted. 

Jacob ignored his protests and grabbed a hold of Enoch's hands, causing the other boy to dance in time with him around the room. Gradually, Enoch's scowl faded and was replaced by a bright smile. They both sang through their laughter as they jumped around. 

_I would do 'most anything_  
_To get you back by my side_  
_But I just keep on laughing_  
_Hiding the tears in my eyes_  
_'Cause boys don't cry_

They both flopped backwards onto Jacob's bed, panting as the song came to an end. Jacob turned his head to grin at Enoch, who was watching him with wide eyes.

'Enoch, I love you to bits. So do the others, whether you believe it or not.' 

'Love you too.' Enoch mumbled, turning his head into the mattress. Jacob smiled softly - he knew how hard the other boy found it to express his feelings. 

They lay there in silence for a while, both staring up at the ceiling. There were glow-in-the-dark stars stuck unevenly over his bed, along with the scratched-out names of girls Jacob had crushed on in the past. 

'Claudia, Emily, Rose, Alex...' Enoch read aloud, 'damn Portman, don't let Emma see this.' 

Jacob laughed. 'Watch this.'

He sat up, taking the record off the player before switching off the lights. He heard Enoch's soft gasp as he lay back down, the stars above them shining brightly. 

Jacob slipped under the cover and beckoned for Enoch to do the same. They both lay with their heads on the same pillow and breathed in sync. 

'Hey, Enoch...do you know who that is on your shirt? The Notorious B.I.G?' Jacob asked.

'I have absolutely no idea who that is.' Enoch sniggered. 

They both collapsed into peals of laughter and fell asleep soon after.


End file.
